Severe tearfulness in a dog is mainly a protective reaction of the body aimed at removing foreign external objects, as well as pathogenic microorganisms, from the eye.
Discharge, especially purulent discharge from the eyes, signals the owner about a disease of the eye or other internal organs, as well as the presence of an infectious disease, which, if timely treatment measures are not taken, can lead to blindness.
When is discharge from the eyes normal, and when is it pathological?
For some breeds of dogs that have sagging cheeks, flat faces, and protruding eyes, this is normal. These breeds include Yorkshire terriers, Shih Tzu, toy terrier, boxer, collie, Pekingese. Tear marks are especially noticeable in dogs with light fur.
Content
1. Pathology or cosmetic defect? 2. What causes tear tracks to appear 3. Should I treat or wash it off? 4. How to remove tear tracks 5. Should you use folk remedies? 6. Prevention of tear ducts 7. Diagnosis and treatment
Some dogs have unsightly reddish and brown spots on their faces, which are especially noticeable in light-colored dogs. These are tear tracks that cause a lot of grief to owners, but not everyone knows that the reason for their appearance can be serious.
When is veterinary care required?
If you know with certainty the reason why your dog’s eyes are watering, it does not threaten his life, you can postpone your visit to the doctor. In such cases, you can get by with home care, rinsing with a neutral saline solution until the symptoms disappear.
But there are symptoms that cannot be ignored:
- severe redness of the eyeball;
- irritation that prevents the dog from fully opening the eyelid or blinking;
- severe itching as a result of fairly accumulated pus;
- severe swelling;
- the presence of blood in the tear secretion;
- unpleasant smell of purulent discharge.
In these cases, only an experienced veterinarian can find out what is causing the dog’s eyes to fester and what treatment your pet will need. Let's look at the main causes of purulent discharge.
Pathology or cosmetic defect?
Veterinary medicine has a separate branch - veterinary ophthalmology. And pathologies of the lacrimal drainage system in it are the most common. Frequent patients of veterinary clinics are dogs of dwarf breeds - toy poodles, Yorkshire terriers, bichons, papillons, dwarf dachshunds and others. Dry eyes and brown or reddish colored tear tracks are clearly visible on the light fur of the muzzle. Foreign experts have come up with a special term for the pathology - “tear staining syndrome.”
Tear tracks are pigmented areas of fur that are moistened by tears. The tear fluid contains substances that oxidize, which forms the brown color. The lacrimation can be so severe, for example, when the tear duct is completely blocked, that tears drip onto the floor. If tear tracks are not removed, constantly wet skin will become inflamed, and weeping eczema may occur.
Infectious diseases
Eye drops for dogs for purulent discharge are prescribed if the dog is diagnosed with otitis media. This may be indicated by frequent shaking of the head and scratching of the ear on the affected side.
Bacterial and viral infections can also cause eye disease. Most often, old animals, puppies with a weak immune system, and dogs with chronic diseases are susceptible to infection. Common diseases that often cause complications in the eyes are plague, mycoplasmosis, enteritis, hepatitis and others.
What causes tear tracks to appear
The problem goes beyond aesthetics, although it is primarily the pet’s appearance that deteriorates. There is no dependence on the breed; representatives of different breeds, mostly light or white in color, suffer from constant lacrimation.
There may be several reasons. Epiphora (lacrimation) can be unilateral or bilateral, abundant or minor, congenital or developed at some point in life. The reasons may be related to both increased tear production (irritation) and its outflow. The third type, the most common, is idiopathic lacrimation.
Veterinarians identify several causes of dysfunction of the lacrimal system:
- obstruction of the lacrimal canaliculi, which becomes a consequence of the accumulation of mucus and pathogenic bacteria in them, which provokes the development of the inflammatory process. It is extremely rare, but in veterinary practice there are cases of chemical and thermal burns that led to pathology;
- atresia (fusion) of one or both lacrimal openings - genetic (congenital) or acquired pathology. In dogs, it is typical for some breeds - poodles, American cocker spaniels, Samoyeds, golden retrievers, Bedlington terriers. In them, infection of the lower lacrimal punctum is more common, but if both are absent, epiphora develops;
- obstruction of the nasal part of the nasolacrimal duct (stenosis). Pathology can be caused by viral and bacterial conjunctivitis, injuries to the lacrimal drainage system, as well as congenital defects - the absence or anatomical narrowness of certain sections of the nasolacrimal ducts, breed predisposition;
- shallow tear lake - a pathology characteristic of some breeds of dogs of the brachycephalic type (pugs, boxers, bulldogs, etc.);
- Dacryocystitis is inflammation of the lacrimal sac, more often unilateral. It may be a consequence of viral herpes, a foreign body, an inflammatory process or a tumor.
Increased lacrimation can be triggered by an allergic reaction of the animal’s body, more often to food. Therefore, veterinarians recommend that you be very careful when choosing food for pets with white or light hair. If there is a need to change the diet, you cannot do it suddenly - the transition should be gradual so that digestive problems do not arise.
Other causes of increased lacrimation include the following, which are not obvious but possible:
- ear infections;
- oral infections;
- change of teeth, etc.
Sometimes diseases of the nasal cavity lead to compression of the nasolacrimal duct. In each specific case, only a veterinarian is able to determine what caused epiphora, especially if the disease developed during the pet’s life.
Eyeball injury
Given the curiosity and high mobility of four-legged pets, they can easily injure themselves unintentionally.
Eyeballs can be damaged as a result of:
- hit by a foreign object;
- scratching the mucous membrane with claws while scratching;
- the animal may get hurt during a fight.
The veterinarian must examine the animal, remove the foreign body that has entered the eyelid, and prescribe therapy aimed at combating the consequences. It must be said that assessing the severity of a mechanical injury can be quite difficult; signs of pathology may appear after some time. If both eyes of the dog become infected, there is a high probability of a serious head injury, then the treatment becomes more in-depth.
How to remove tear tracks
Eye hygiene is an important procedure that needs to be paid attention to daily. A humid environment is a favorable place for the proliferation of pathogens that can cause serious infectious diseases in animals.
For hygiene procedures, you can choose special products:
- lotions, for example, Excel Tear Stain Remover Liquid, Beaphar Sensitiv, Doctor Vic and others;
- drops – Beaphar Oftal, Espree to remove stains from fur and around the eyes AC Tear Stain & Spot Remover, etc.;
- products for removing marks and whitening wool - Transgroom Show Tech Tear Stains Remover, ESPREE Tear Stain & Spot Remover, Bio-Groom Stain Free and others.
You can buy them at a pet store or veterinary pharmacy. A veterinarian will help you choose the most effective one, taking into account your coat type and color.
Helminth infection
Perhaps you forgot to carry out deworming in time and the answer to the question why the puppy’s eyes fester is infection with worms.
If this is so, then in addition to inflammation of the mucous membrane, the animal will suffer from other manifestations of the disease:
- intoxication;
- elevated temperature (not always);
- itching in the anus.
Treatment in this case should be primarily aimed at combating worms. At the same time, the doctor prescribes local medications to normalize tear production and eliminate signs of infection.
Prevention of tear tracks
If the cause of epiphora is not genetic pathologies, you can try to reduce lacrimation and its unsightly cosmetic consequences. To do this you need:
- periodically examine the dog's eyes; any signs of ill health - redness, inflammation, swelling, etc. - are a reason to contact a veterinarian. If a dog hides from the light, often closes its eyes, rubs its muzzle with its paws, or scratches itself on its bedding, these are “bells” indicating that it is time to see a doctor;
- Regularly clean your eyes from dirt and dust using special wipes and lotions. For wiping, choose only sterile gauze wipes; cotton wool can leave lint that gets into the eye, causing even more inflammation. You can wash your eyes with chamomile decoction, and tea (infusion) will leave dark marks on the white or light fur of the muzzle;
- Use shampoo and other detergents carefully when bathing your dog: if they come into contact with the eyes, they should be rinsed immediately with water.
Conjunctivitis in a dog
If your dog's eyes are watery and purulent, you need to rule out inflammation of the conjunctiva. This is a rather dangerous inflammatory disease, which is provoked by a bacterial infection.
Symptoms of a serious condition:
- The dog’s eyes become very festered, the animal has difficulty moving its eyelids;
- the discharge takes on a dark shade - green or brown;
- the eyelids are often stuck together with a crust.
In such cases, only the veterinarian prescribes what to wash the dog’s eyes from pus and directs further therapy, adjusting it depending on the progress.
Problems with internal organs
Diseases of the internal organs can cause white discharge from the dog's eyes. Particular attention should be paid to the health of puppies and older dogs, whose immunity is often weakened. To determine the cause, sometimes it is necessary to conduct a full examination of the animal.
Many chronic diseases also cause vision problems during periods of exacerbation. The cause of increased tearing can be benign and malignant formations in the area of the lacrimal glands or in the animal’s brain.
Allergic reaction
The result of exposure to an allergen on the body can be increased tearing of the eyes. In particularly serious cases, white discharge from the dog's eyes is observed. Anything can be an allergen:
- plant pollen;
- individual feed components;
- household chemicals;
- medicines;
- flea drops and collar;
- dust.
Signs of an allergy may include:
- sneezing and coughing;
- itching and baldness of some areas of the skin;
- discharge from the eyes and nose of the dog;
- swollen lips, nose and paw pads.
If left untreated, bronchial asthma and pulmonary edema are possible. Damage from exposure to an allergen accumulates in the body. Therefore, the reaction to it becomes more severe over time, which can lead to suffocation and death of the animal.
Diagnostics
Lacrimation must be differentiated from tears or purulent exudate.
A study is being conducted with a silver-based drug. If everything is in order, then it appears in the nostrils 10 seconds after entering the eyes. This experiment will provide information about the location of the blockage. In this case, the drug is instilled into the upper lacrimal punctum. When the substance does not come out of the lower one, a blockage of the upper or lower tubule, a blockage in the sac, should be diagnosed, sometimes this is due to the anatomical absence of the lacrimal punctum.
If there is an anomaly in the structure of the nose or its sinuses, a rhinoscopy is performed with a biopsy of all strange parts; the exudate can be collected for microbial analysis. If the exudate is pus, then a microbial analysis must be done before prescribing therapy.
An x-ray will provide some information. In particular, damage to the bones of the nose, sinuses, and upper jaw can be established.
